The present invention relates generally to the field of portable devices for carrying wire wound on spools and, more particularly, to those devices which provide increased control over the unwinding of the wire.
In the course of servicing various electrical equipment, it is common for electrical maintenance or service personnel to be equipped with several sizes of electrical wire. Wire for such purposes is provided by the manufacturer on spools having standardized diameters. Thus, 500' lengths of 10-12-14-16-18 gauge electrical wire may be provided by a particular manufacturer on spools having the same diameter, such as for example, 7 inches.
When servicing electrical equipment, it is for obvious reasons desirable to have at hand several spools carrying different gauges of wire. However, carrying the spools in a tool box or other similar device is cumbersome and inconvenient in that the spools are not readily available for use. Further, if the free ends of the wires in the spools are not secured to the spools, the wires are free to unwind from the spools. If the wire ends are secured to the spools, they must be manually disattached therefrom prior to unwinding the spools.
A further inconvenience results from having to unwind the wire manually from the spool. Even if the wire spools are mounted on a spindle device to facilitate unwinding, without some type of braking device, an excessive pull causes the spools to unwind too far. And, if a separate spindle device is used for each spool, carrying the spools is rendered even more cumbersome.